Automatic floor scrubbing machines are well known in the art. One such machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,094 which shows a self-propelled automatic floor scrubber having a powered brush in a forward location beneath the machine and a vacuum recovery system at the rear end of the machine behind the brush. Cleaning fluid is stored in one compartment and dispensed under operator control to an area adjacent the brush. The brush rotates and works the cleaning solution into the floor for removing dirt. The spent solution left on the floor behind the brush is picked up by the vacuum recovery system where it is returned to a separate tank for the spent solution.
It has become desirable in automatic floor scrubbers of the type described above, to use a squeegee which is curved so that the trailing squeegee gathers the water, rather than permitting it to roll off to the side. The squeegee is mounted so that it can rotate independently about a vertical axis (permitting the squeegee to move laterally as the machine negotiates a turn) as well as about a horizontal axis, which permits the squeegee to accommodate itself to areas of the floor which might be unlevel. In addition, for transportation between work areas or to storage, it is desirable that the squeegee be raised to a transport or nonuse position in which the squeegee is out of contact with the floor. The brush is also preferably raised during transport.
However, mechanisms for providing all of the various motion and functions of the squeegee while permitting it to track accurately behind the machine during forward motion as well as during turns and to do so by a structure which is economical to manufacture, has been difficult. Typical structures for mounting squeegees behind floor scrubbers have been expensive to manufacture and difficult to access and repair.